Horticulture and Crop Science faculty and staff members worked with Upper Arlington High School student Olivia March on her project titled “Effects of Planting Depth and Use of Seed Tape on Germination and Emergence of Corn Seeds”. Dr. Peter Thomison, Dr. Ramarao Venkatesh, and Colette Gabriel mentored Olivia who submitted her project as part of the Upper Arlington Honors Science Research Program. Seed tape has recently received attention as an alternative planting system for smallholder farmers in underdeveloped regions of South America, Africa, China, and India. Seed tapes comprises of biodegradable paper strips sandwiching crop seeds. It ensures uniform seed spacing and plant density.
Olivia presented her research in the district science fair. Her project was chosen to receive one of the Ohio Soybean Council Foundation Science awards for 2014. The project met the criteria and was judged as one of the “outstanding student projects in the area of agriculture biosciences, bioresources, biopolymers, bioproducts and/or biofuels using soybeans”. She received a certificate and a one-hundred dollar check from the Ohio Soybean Council Foundation. The Ohio Soybean Council supports education and inquiry in the fields of science and engineering.
HCS is collaborating with the departments of Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering and Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics, CFAES, on projects related to seed tape.